The Blueprint 3
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The Blueprint 3 is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation. It is the final installment in The Blueprint trilogy, preceded by The Blueprint (2001) and The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse (2002). Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 at several recording studios and was handled by Kanye West, The Neptunes, Jeff Bhasker, Al Shux, Jermone Harmon, No I.D., The Inkredibles, Swizz Beatz, and Timbaland.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 476,000 copies in its first week. It became Jay-Z's eleventh US number-one album, breaking the record he had previously shared with Elvis Presley, and produced five singles that achieved chart success. Upon its release, The Blueprint 3 received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone named it the fourth best album of 2009. The album has sold over 1.8 million copies in the United States.
Background
The earliest hype over The Blueprint 3 came when DJ Clue released in January 2008 a mixtape song called "Ain't I", produced by Timbaland. In the intro, Clue says, "Off that Blueprint 3 baby!" However, a spokesperson for Jay-Z said that it was an old, unreleased song and that the recording of The Blueprint 3 had not yet started.[2] In July 20, Timbaland, a frequent contributor to previous Jay-Z albums, told MTV News that he would be producing the whole album.[3] But in an interview with the Rolling Stone magazine, Jay-Z called the statement "premature".[4] In July 2009, Jay-Z confirmed The Blueprint 3 as the album's title during an interview with radio station Shade 45.[5]
By November 2008, he had finished the album but with lengthy negotiations with Def Jam, he went onto reworking it.[6] In January 2009, Jay-Z confirmed continued production of the album and admitted the leak of several songs.[7][8] In a Billboard magazine interview, Jay-Z confirmed "What We Talkin' About", the album's intro, "Thank You", and "Already Home" as song names and collaborations with Australian dance group Empire of the Sun, rappers Drake and Kid Cudi and singer Rihanna.[6] He also mentioned in an interview with DJ Semtex that his favorite song on the album is "Empire State of Mind".[9] The official tracklist for Blueprint 3 was revealed on August 18, confirming the guest appearances from Drake, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, J. Cole, and more.[10]
Recording
Most of the album's recording sessions took place in Hawaii at Avex Honolulu Studio,[11] in an effort to avoid leakage. West's protégé Mr Hudson explained to The Times that he "won't get bothered there" compared to a major city such as New York or Los Angeles.[12] Sessions for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 at Avex Honolulu Studio and several other recording studios, including Germano Studios, Oven Studios, and Roc The Mic in New York City, Kingdom Studios and Lava Studios in Cleveland, Midnight Blue Studios and South Beach Studios in Miami, The Holy Chateau in Perth, Australia, and Westlake Studio in Los Angeles.[11][13]
Jay-Z told Rolling Stone magazine his method of selecting producers: "If Timbaland makes ten great tracks then he produces the album, if Kanye West makes ten great tracks then he produces the album; if he makes three, I'll take three. I let the music dictate the direction."[4] However, the final track listing reveals, that West produced the majority of tracks on the album, and three done by Timbaland. West confirmed two songs, "A Star Is Born" and "Young Forever", during an appearance on The Wake Up Show in February 2009.[14] Mr Hudson, who is the featured artist on the latter, described it as a flip on the Alphaville record of a similar name.[15] During a joint interview with Hudson, West confirmed that the pop artist would be featured on three songs.[15] Pharrell stated that he emailed "So Ambitious" to Jay-Z the day he was mastering the album. He loved the track so much that he put off the mastering.[citation needed]
Release and promotion
The album was released September 8, 2009 on Roc Nation in the United States.[16][17] It was also released digitally on September 11, 2009 in the US, and its United Kingdom and international release followed on September 14 that same year.[18] Prior to its official release, the album leaked in its entirety on August 31, 2009.[19] When asked about the leak, Jay-Z stated "It's a preview. I'm excited for people to hear the album. I'm very proud of the work I've done, so enjoy it".[20]
The album's promotional single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" was premiered on June 5, 2009 via New York radio station Hot 97.[21] On June 7, 2009 Jay-Z made a guest appearance at Hot 97's Summer Jam concert, and performed D.O.A. live on stage, for the first time. On May 20, 2009, Jay-Z confirmed that he bought out the remainder of his contract from Def Jam Records in order to start his contract with Live Nation, as The Blueprint 3 was set to be released under Roc Nation and distributed by Atlantic Records.[17] In August 2008, Jay-Z performed the Kanye West–produced song "Jockin' Jay-Z" during the latter's Glow in the Dark Tour.[5]
Reception
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 476,000 copies.[22] It serves as the third-highest first-week sales of 2009.[22] It became Jay-Z's eleventh US number-one album, breaking the record he had previously shared with Elvis Presley.[23] In its second week, it remained at number 1, selling another 301,000 units, before dropping to second in its third week. After four weeks sales totaled 1,104,000 units. In the album's fifth week it sold 75,000 copies bringing the total to 1,178,000 it is Jay-Z's 11th solo album to go Platinum.[24][25] The album in its fifth week is also number 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In its sixth week the album rose up 2 spots to number 3 on the Billboard 200, despite selling 65,000 copies, 10,000 less than its previous week. 53,000 copies were sold in the US in its seventh week, putting it at number 4 on the charts. In week eight the album sold 51,000 copies. In the next week album sold 48,000 units.[26][27] In next three weeks album sold over 100,000 copies and its current sales in the U.S. is over 1,700,000 units as of May 2010.[26] having sold 1,748,000 copies [28] and being Jay-Z's first album to have 3 Hot 100 Top 10 Hits.
The album was the 9th best selling album of 2009 in the U.S., selling over 1.52 million copies in 4 months,[29] the album is now at over 1.86 million sold and still in the Top 30.[30] The Blueprint 3 is the second highest selling hip-hop album of 2009 domestically. Despite being released in 2009, the album was the 7th highest selling Rap Album of 2010 with sales of over 266.000 copies.
Critical response
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | (A-)[32] |
Entertainment Weekly | (B+)[33] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork Media | (4.5/10)[35] |
PopMatters | (5/10)[36] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Village Voice | (favorable)[40] |
Upon its release, The Blueprint 3 received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics.[41] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, based on 22 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[41] Newsday gave it an A rating,[42] and Robert Christgau gave it an A- rating and called it "fairly superb".[32] USA Today's Steve Jones praised its lyrical qualities, stating "There was a time when a rapper couldn't expect to last past his 20s. Jay-Z, who is nearing 40 and releasing his 11th studio album, shows that for someone who is measured mostly against himself, lyrical dexterity doesn't have an expiration date".[43] Allmusic writer John Bush gave it 4 out of 5 stars and compared the album to its predecessors, describing it as "somewhere between the two, closer to the vitality and energy of the original but not without the crossover bids and guest features of the latter (albeit much better this time)"..[31] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+ rating and wrote that it succeeds at its goal of "reaching maximum commercial blast radius while maintaining its street bona fides".[33] The Daily Telegraph gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and complimented its modern sound.[44] The A.V. Club gave it a B+ rating and stated "Jay-Z sounds liberated by his legacy rather than weighed down by expectations".[45]
However, Slant Magazine's William McBee called it "predictable" and "complacent", stating "The album is a hip-hop feast, for sure, filled to the brim with elite production and elite rapping, but it lacks the hungriness, the spirit, and the craziness that marks a classic album".[38] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "peters out in a mass of indistinct tracks" following its first four songs.[46] Andrew Martin of PopMatters viewed its second half as weak, stating "Jigga has the ability to push the envelope and make fantastic music. But on here, he has clearly reached an impasse of how to execute that perfectly".[36] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media viewed it as "so certainly Jay-Z's weakest solo album, you'll be tempted to wonder if Kingdom Come was somehow underrated".[35] The Washington Post's Chris Richards gave the album a negative review and criticized its lyrical substance.[47] In his review for the Los Angeles Times, critic Greg Kot gave the album 2½ out of 4 stars and viewed Jay-Z's celebrity and older age as somewhat of a flaw, stating:
It's tough for hip-hop stars to age well. Once they become celebrities living in mansions and starring in family movies, street cred is usually the first thing to go. Just ask Ice Cube. Longevity just wasn't built into the hip-hop lifestyle, with its premium on youthful swagger, street tales and fast turnover ... 'The Blueprint 3' aims to show everyone he still has wicked skills on the mike. It does, even as it illustrates that sometimes he coasts on his celebrity ... The message: Don't mess with ol' Gray-Z.[34]
Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen called it "a catchy, pop-friendly record" and commended Jay-Z's lyricism, but wrote that he is "stuck for a subject ... he'll continue to make good but not great music, replicating the form of his finest records minus the electric charge. What more can Jay-Z say? Not so much, apparently. But he says it well.[37] Stephen Dalton of The Times called the album "no great milestone, but far from the predicted disaster."[39] Despite calling the songs "more superficial" than Jay-Z's best work, IGN's Chris Carle gave the album a 7.9/10 rating and stated "This is commercial rap, but it's well-made, and many of the tracks have been tailor-made to be singles".[48] Pete Cashmore of NME gave the album an 8/10 rating and wrote that it "delivers because of hefty beats and quality rapsmanship, nothing else. And, ultimately, that’ll do just fine".[49] Kiilian Fox of The Observer wrote that Jay-Z is "maturing into a responsible elder statesman" through the album.[50] Zach Baron of The Village Voice viewed that "much of Blueprint 3 is about the weird, meta-rap work of redefining what it is to be a boss" and wrote "Jay-Z's midlife crisis is over. Which doesn't make The Blueprint 3 a classic. But we'll take it. For now".[40]
The Blueprint 3 was ranked the best album of the year by Billboard,[51] and seventh best album of the year by MTV.[52] Rolling Stone named it the fourth best album of 2009 in its year-end list.[53]
Track listing
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "What We Talkin' About" (feat. Luke Steele) | Kanye West, No I.D. | 4:04 |
2. | "Thank You" | Kanye West, No I.D. | 4:10 |
3. | "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" | No I.D. | 4:15 |
4. | "Run This Town" (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West) | Kanye West, No I.D. | 4:27 |
5. | "Empire State of Mind" (feat. Alicia Keys) | Al Shux, Janet Sewell-Ulepic, Angela Hunte (co) | 4:36 |
6. | "Real as It Gets" (feat. Young Jeezy) | The Inkredibles | 4:12 |
7. | "On to the Next One" (feat. Swizz Beatz) | Swizz Beatz | 4:17 |
8. | "Off That" (feat. Drake) | Timbaland, Jerome Harmon | 4:06 |
9. | "A Star Is Born" (feat. J. Cole) | Kanye West, No I.D., Kenoe | 3:48 |
10. | "Venus vs. Mars" | Timbaland, Jerome Harmon | 3:10 |
11. | "Already Home" (feat. Kid Cudi) | Kanye West, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker (add) | 4:29 |
12. | "Hate" (feat. Kanye West) | Kanye West | 2:31 |
13. | "Reminder" | Timbaland, Jerome Harmon | 4:18 |
14. | "So Ambitious" (feat. Pharrell) | The Neptunes | 4:12 |
15. | "Young Forever" (feat. Mr Hudson) | Kanye West | 4:13 |
• (co) - co-producer
• (add) - additional producer
Personnel
# | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
The Blueprint 3 |
Executive producer: Kanye West, Shawn Carter | |
1 | "What We Talkin' About" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, E. Wilson , K. West , K. Randolph |
2 | "Thank You" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, E. Wilson , K. West |
3 | "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, E. Wilson, G. DeCarlo, D. Frashuer, P. Leka, J. Nilović, D. Sucky |
4 | "Run This Town" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, E. Wilson , J. Bhasker , K. West , R. Fenty |
5 | "Empire State of Mind" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, A. Shuckburgh , A. Keys , A. Hunte , J. Sewell-Ulepic |
6 | "Real as It Gets" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, J. Jenkins , J. Mollings , L. Elliott , L. Mollings , M. Carpender |
7 | "On to the Next One" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, K. Dean |
8 | "Off That" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, A. Graham , J. Harmon , T. Mosley |
9 | "A Star Is Born" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, E. Wilson , J. Cole , K. West , M. Jordan |
10 | "Venus vs. Mars" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, J. Harmon , T. Mosley |
11 | "Already Home" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, E. Wilson , K. West , S. Mescudi |
12 | "Hate" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, J. Bhasker , K. West |
13 | "Reminder" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, J. Harmon , N. Briscoe , T. Mosley |
14 | "So Ambitious" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, P. Williams, C. Hugo, M. Riperton, R. Rudolph, H. Lewy |
15 | "Young Forever" |
Songwriters: S. Carter, F. Mertens, K. West, L. Bernhard, M. Gold |
Chart history
Chart positions
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Certifications
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Chart procession and succession
References
- ^ http://www.radio1.gr/music/forthcoming_uk_singles.htm
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2008-01-30). "New Jay-Z Song Leaks -- Is Blueprint 3 In The Works?". MTV. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2008-07-16). "Timbaland On Producing Jay-Z's Next LP: 'It'll Be A Monster'". MTV. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ a b Van Dril, E. (2008-09-01). "Jay-Z Teaming with Kanye West on Next Album". TheCelebrityCafe. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (2008-09-07). "Jay-Z Announces Blueprint 3, Premieres New Kanye West-Produced Track At Kanye's NYC Show". MTV. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ a b Concepcion, Mariel (2009-07-20). "Jay-Z: He's A Business, Man". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
{{cite news}}
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- ^ Jay-Z Interview w/ DJ Semtex. Nah Right. Retrieved on 2009-07-25.
- ^ Dombal, Ryan (2009-08-19). "Jay-Z's Blueprint 3: The Tracklist". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork Media Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
- ^ a b The Blueprint 3 liner notes Roc Nation (2009)
- ^ Crerar, Simon (2009-07-08). "Mr Hudson Goes 'Supernova' with Kanye". Times Online. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ "Jay-Z The Blueprint 3 CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-02-13). "Kanye West Says 'Best Hip-Hop Beats Of All Time' Will Be On Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3". MTV. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ a b Roberts, Steven (2009-05-18). "Mr Hudson On Working With Jay-Z: 'I'm Pinching Myself'". MTV. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith. (2009-09-04). Jay-Z's 'Blueprint 3' Release Date Moved To Sept. 8. Billboard.biz. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ a b Concepcion, Mariel (2009-06-30). "Jay-Z Confirms Roc Nation Deals With Sony, Atlantic". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
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